This evening while watching basketball I drank a China Competition Grade Top Tie-Guan-Yin, a personal favorite oolong of mine – but then again all oolongs are personal favorites. I can honestly say that I have not had a oolong that I did not enjoy. This tea comes from Upton Tea Imports.

I received two grams or .1 ounces, which was just barely enough to make eight ounces of tea. I could have easily added another half teaspoon of tea to my infuser.

Description from Upton’s website:This handmade specialty Oolong is the finest Tie-Guan-Yin we have seen in recent years. The liquor is smooth and sweet, with a complex, orchid-like aroma.

In looking at their website, Upton only sells this tea in two grams and 10 grams. I feel very fortunate to have been able to experience this tea. The floral aftertaste is very apparent and extremely delightful.

The liquor, as you can see, is a pleasant yellow-green, which was very clean.

I have been on hiatus from this lovely place for several months, and I am happy to say that I have decided to return. My love for tea has been re-inspired by a visit to my favorite tea cafe in Harvard Square with a friend a couple of weeks ago.

While visiting the aforementioned cafe, I enjoyed a personal favorite oolong tea Ti Kuan Yin (Iron Goddess of Mercy). My tea-drinking companion had a pot of darjeeling, which I can attest is quite delightful from this establishment.

In other news, the nice people at Mighty Leaf have continued to send me tea to review – despite my failings as a blogger of tea. Below you will find a picture of a thermos – or brew mug as they call it – and some samples I received from them. As I sip my tea, I can say that the thermos keeps the tea extremely hot. Today I am enjoying their Green Tea Tropical tea, which as the name suggests is a green tea blended with tropical fruits. Mighty Leaf recommends this tea as a good introduction to the world of green tea to those of you who are a little hesitant to try this type of tea. I highly recommend this tea.

For those of you reluctant to try loose tea, Mighty Leaf’s biodegradable tea pouches are the perfect solution. They provide a convenient, no-hassle way to enjoy tea, and many of their tea pouches can now be found at your local grocery store.

Here is a video showcasing how to use the brew mug. While I found it is very intuitive, I must admit that the video really does an adequate job of explaining the product.

If you have a brew mug or have tried Mighty Leaf’s tea, please let me know your thoughts.

As my regular readers might recall, I reviewed a wuyi oolong not too long ago–one from Rishi Tea. Oolongs are very complex and varied in flavor, and, for that, I truly appreciate this category of the camellia sinensis plant.

Oolongs are between a black and green tea in oxidation: somewhere between 10 to 75 percent.

According to Mighty Leaf’s web site, this “Wuyi Oolong made in China’s Northern Fujian Wuyi mountains is well known for its smooth and rich body and taste. Long, beautiful twisted leaves impart a roasty aroma and produce a sweet, nuanced cup.”

Nuanced is the perfect word to describe this tea. You definitely get the roasted, smoky flavor found in most oolongs, but there are hints of the sweet “caramelization” of this tea that might be even more rewarding had I added sweetner.

This tea holds up well to multiple steepings, and gets better with every sip. You don’t want this cuppa to end.

Another oolong that eludes all description, and I mean this in the best possible way. It is such a wonderful afternoon tea. This type of tea is fast becoming my favorite. Tealuxe also offers Ti Quan Yin, but I wanted to compare different oolongs. Tomorrow I might visit Dado for their dark oolong. I went to Cardullo’s today to check on their orchid oolong from Golden Moon, but the asking price was $25 for 4.5 ounces. Not horrible, but a little too pricey for my wallet right now.